CVE-2021-20464Network attack vector

Authenticated service interruption via XML bombs

Published Apr 22, 2022 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Denial of service in IBM Cognos Analytics PowerPlay 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via XML bombs. IBM has not disclosed the PowerPlay XML-processing locus or how crafted XML consumes enough resources to interrupt service. A valid account and network access to the affected PowerPlay interface are required; the published impact is limited to availability.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.40%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Denial of service in IBM Cognos Analytics PowerPlay 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via XML bombs. IBM has not disclosed the PowerPlay XML-processing locus or how crafted XML consumes enough resources to interrupt service. A valid account and network access to the affected PowerPlay interface are required; the published impact is limited to availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-20464
Published
Apr 22, 2022
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
Cognos Analytics
Classifications
T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 22, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=11.1.7
  2. Affected versionversion=11.2.0
  3. Affected versionversion=11.2.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · Cognos Analyticsversion=11.1.7; version=11.2.0; version=11.2.1

Published CVSS scores

5.7IBMCVSS:3.0/C:N/AC:L/S:U/A:H/UI:N/AV:N/PR:L/I:N/E:U/RC:C/RL:O
6.5IBMCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo